Correlation of microRNA-125a/b with acute respiratory distress syndrome risk and prognosis in sepsis patients

Objective This study was conducted to explore the association of microRNA (miR)-125a and miR-125b with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) risk and to investigate their correlation with clinical characteristics and prognosis in sepsis patients. Methods Totally 150 sepsis patients admitted to our hospital were consecutively enrolled and another 150 healthy subjects were enrolled as healthy controls (HCs). Their blood samples were collected for miR-125a and miR-125b detection by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Besides, ARDS occurrence and 28-day mortality were documented in all sepsis patients. Results MiR-125a and miR-125b relative expressions were increased in ARDS-sepsis patients/non-ARDS-sepsis patients compared with HCs, while only miR-125b but not miR-125a was elevated in ARDS-sepsis patients compared with non-ARDS-sepsis patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve presented that miR-125a (AUC: 0.650, 95%CI: 0.549-0.750) and miR-125b (AUC: 0.739, 95%CI: 0.653-0.823) could differentiate ARDS-sepsis patients from non-ARDS-sepsis patients, and miR-125b was of increased predictive value compared with miR-125a numerically. In sepsis patients, miR-125a relative expression was positively associated with serum creatinine (Scr), chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and miR-125b was positively associated with Scr, C-reactive protein (CRP), APACHE II score, SOFA score, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. All sepsis patients were categorized into survivors and deaths according to 28-day mortality, and miR-125b but not miR-125a was upregulated in deaths compared with survivors. Conclusion Both of miR-125a and miR-125b predict ARDS risk, while only miR-125b is of value in prognosis prediction in sepsis patients.